CHANDIGARH: Indian prime minister Narasimha Rao is reported to have asked Punjab chief minister Beant Singh to step down as president of the state Congress (I) unit, This directive is reported to be in pursuance of the party’s decision to permit ‘one post for one man.” But the party’s guideline is quite old. It was not being enforced in Punjab to give Beant Singh greater scope to consolidate his position in view of the fact that he is fighting the Hindu nation’s battle against Sikhs in Punjab. But the municipal election results have queered the pitch for him. Prime Minister Rao is said to be in favor of promoting a little known party M.P .Kamal Chaudhry as chief of the ruling party in Punjab. Chaudhry is a Saini by caste. The prime minister appears to be conscious of the need to give non-Jats greater say in running the party. The demand for Beant Singh’s ouster will gather force with the party’s poor showing in the civic poll. His opponents had, in fact, paved the way when they had made complaints on the eve of the elections against the non-inclusion of candidates belonging to dissident groups in the official list prepared by the chief minister. This faulty handling will be shown now by the dissidents to put pressure on the chief minister to relinquish office as party chief.
Congress (I) dissidents will also point out that in hundreds of wards the Congress (I) fought against Congress( I) thanks to wrong selection of party’s candidates by the chief minister. But the chief minister will try to convince the prime minister that he needs more time in the post of party chief in Punjab as he has to arrange panchayat elections as well as elections to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
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